Cecily Strong Says 'Goodbye' To SNL With Story of Colin Jost Saving Her From The 30 Rock Elevators
Saying goodbye is hard but not as hard as escaping the labyrinthine offices of Saturday Night Live at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, apparently.
Cecily Strong capped off her ten-year run on the biggest stage in comedy this past Saturday night, and she retired as the longest-tenured female cast member in the show’s 47 year history. SNL gave Strong a tasteful sendoff complete with a swooning rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas” by Elvis star Austin Butler alongside Strong’s friends and co stars from the SNL cast and crew as her historic run came to a close.
Strong posted an Instagram au revoir yesterday evening in which the comedy giant revealed through a story from her first day on the job that it’s almost as hard to get out of 30 Rock as it is to get in it.
“Ten and a half years ago I got my dream job. The first actual work day I tried to be very cool and make it look like I knew what i was doing and I was supposed to be there,” Strong started. Various SNL cast members and writers have told similar stories of how hard they tried to seem like they belonged in the most competitive and sought-after workplace in comedy.
Said Strong, “I left that night around 11 after saying goodbye to everyone. I got stuck wandering around the building because none of the elevators went to the first floor and I was trying so hard to avoid having to go back upstairs to ask for help because I’d already said goodbye!!!” Instead of asking for directions, Strong decided to wander through “every floor” trying to find the elusive exit.
It took a veteran insider to point Strong towards her escape – Strong continued, “ I ended up going back upstairs and my soon-to-be great friend Colin Jost helped me out and walked me over to the secret night time elevator.” The phrase “secret night time elevator” sounds like something that belongs in the fictionalized world of the sitcom 30 Rock, not an actual necessary utility that they don’t tell rookies about during their first days at the real-life 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
Strong got sentimental about her first exit from the SNL offices while still processing her last, saying, “It felt as impossible to leave that night as it does now.” Strong acknowledged the SNL castmate who helped her at both the beginning and end of her tenure, saying, “My great friend Colin Jost ended up helping me again, this time by getting Elvis to sing me off (thank you Austin Butler you absolute kind and generous dreamboat).”
Maybe that’s why Kenan Thompson hasn’t left SNL after almost twenty years on the show – he can't get out of the building.
